Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I apologise for the delay as I was attending an Oireachtas justice committee meeting. I tabled this motion on foot of an e-mail I received from an independent candidate who stood in the local elections in Clare who came across this issue regarding seven teachers in Clare. Those teachers have been teaching for a number of years but find that they are neither on a panel nor a supplementary panel at this stage. It seems grossly unfair, in light of the facts available, that such a position should be allowed continue. I am not quite sure of the circumstances and why these teachers have not been accepted either to a panel or supplementary panel. There may be an issue concerning the teaching of Irish but such matters can be resolved where there is a willingness to do so.

I am sure the issue is not unique to teachers in County Clare and it is reflected in other counties as well. Nationally, there is a problem in the placing of young teachers coming out of college who are trying to advance their teaching practice, and there is an ongoing issue with teachers needing six months of consistent teaching experience in order to fulfil training requirements within the education programme and finding they cannot, through no fault of their own and having done countless interviews, find such experience. The competition for the places is at such a level that many candidates do not seem to be able to secure the six months of practice. A couple of things must happen in that regard. The educational institutions which provide teaching must consider the easing of requirements, for example.

There are seven teachers in Clare whose lives are on hold because of this issue. I understand they have contacted the Department and the office of the Minister, Deputy Quinn, who is fully aware of the circumstances. Where there is a willingness to resolve a problem to everyone's satisfaction, it can happen when there is engagement between two parties. I apologise to the Minister of State as the Adjournment matter are being heard earlier than we expected, and I was attending a committee meeting at the time.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline for the House the arrangements for filling permanent teaching posts in our schools. Vacancies are filled in the first instance through the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers and this is the core function of the redeployment arrangements. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprising eligible fixed-term and part-time teachers. When the supplementary panel process concludes, any remaining permanent vacancies are then filled by open recruitment through the standard advertising process.
Department circular 57/2013 was published last autumn and it set out the criteria that fixed-term and part-time teachers must meet for gaining access to the supplementary panel. The criteria include a requirement to be fully registered with the Teaching Council and be probated to work in all settings. The Teaching Council is responsible for procedures and criteria for the probation of teachers. In accordance with the council's current arrangements, where a primary teacher is employed and probated in a restricted setting, such as a special class, the probationary process is considered to be partially carried out and the teacher's registration will remain subject to the condition of probation. It is open to such teachers who complete the probationary process in a restricted setting, and who wish to complete the probationary process in full, to do so when they are teaching in a mainstream setting. Teachers who complete probation in a restricted setting are not subject to any time limit to complete probation in mainstream settings. This is the position applying to the teachers to whom the Senator refers. The teachers were not therefore given access to the supplementary panel.
It is open to the teachers to apply for fixed-term mainstream positions that are being filled by open recruitment through the public advertisement process. There are many such positions currently being advertised on the website educationposts.ie. Working in such positions would give the teachers an opportunity to get probated to work in a mainstream setting. This would enable them to gain access in the future to the supplementary panel, assuming they meet the other standard criteria as well. I hope this has helped to clarify the position for the Senator.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for clarifying the matter.

The reality is that teachers who have been teaching for a number of years in particular environments are not guaranteed to be successful in the open recruitment process. I acknowledge that a time period is not put on teachers fulfilling the probation period, but fairness must apply and after a certain period has elapsed it is important for a person's confidence and self-esteem that the probationary period should come to an end. It would be the same as employing somebody as an apprentice whose apprenticeship continued to be renewed and they never progressed beyond it.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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There is no provision for a speech.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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If you could just hang on for a moment, a Chathaoirligh. I ask the Minister of State to request the Teaching Council to review the procedures.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Teaching Council is charged with ensuring that we have the very highest standards applying in the teaching profession in this country, thus giving our children the maximum possible opportunity to benefit from their educational experience. The Teaching Council is responsible for the procedures and criteria for the probation of teachers. It is an independent, autonomous entity operating within guidelines underpinned by legislation passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas. At the moment, teachers in the situation referred to by Senator Conway, are currently working in what is described by the Teaching Council as a restricted setting, which does not allow them to complete the probationary process in full. If we were to do what Senator Conway suggests it would then mean having to change the criterion for the entire teaching profession. It is my understanding that the Teaching Council does not think that is in the best interests of the teaching profession or of students. I have much sympathy for teachers operating in such a difficult environment but for the moment the only opportunity available to them is to seek work in what one would describe as a mainstream setting and to complete the probationary process in such a setting, thus allowing them access to the full supplementary panel.